Patriots Beef up O-Line With Free-Agent Signing

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On Tuesday the New England Patriots added rookie offensive lineman Jordan Steckler to the practice squad and released Jordan Roos who had been added a few weeks ago.

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Jordan Steckler is the Latest O-Lineman to Join the Patriots Practice Squad

Steckler is a 6’5″ 320-pound 24-year-old who played his college football at Northern Illinois. He is from Two Rivers, Wisconsin. He went undrafted in this year’s draft, but there were some positive takes on his skill after he proved some merit as a four-year starter for the Huskies.

Michael Renner of Pro Football Focus shared a quick take on Steckler and called him an “intriguing Day 3 prospect.”

Yet another four-year starter at tackle for Northern Illinois, as Max Scharping was drafted in the second round last April. Steckler doesn’t have quite the grading profile that Scharping did over his career, but he has turned it on strong this season with the second-highest pass-blocking grade in the country (91.0). This past week he didn’t allow a single pressure against Akron and has allowed only five on the year. He tends to play a tad high, but he can really get out and move and has the athleticism to stay at tackle in the NFL. Steckler is an intriguing Day 3 prospect at this point.


What Are Steckler’s Chances of Being Activated?

If the Patriots continue to see a multitude of injuries across its offensive line as it has over the past two weeks, the chances are very high. However, Joe Thuney, James Ferentz, and Justin Herron returned to practice on Wednesday.

David Andrews returned for the Week 7 loss to the San Francisco 49ers, and Jermaine Eluemenor could be back in a couple of weeks. Barring some other injuries, the Patriots might be OK with their depth at this point.


Dez Bryant Signs With the Baltimore Ravens’ Practice Squad

Who knows how much Dez Bryant still has left in the tank, but it stands to reason, he could at the very least, create just as much separation as N’Keal Harry.

With that, it’s strange Bryant didn’t draw any interest from the wideout-starved Patriots, but he landed on the practice squad of the Baltimore Ravens.

Bill Belichick deserves a ton of respect for his overall body of work as a coach and general manager, but his decisions on wide receivers have left a lot to be desired. Oh well, at least there’s Jordan Steckler.


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